British Americans
by FreedomStar
Summary: DISCONTINUED Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Draco Malfoy have been selected by Dumbledore to represent Hogwarts at a competition in America with Professor McGonagall for mentor.
1. Chapter 1

**British Americans**

_Chapter 1_

This was bogus. No, scratch that, it was INSANE. But she had agreed to it. And why?

"Because he's got that _twinkle_ in his eyes," she muttered rebelliously.

"Did you just say something?" A startled Ron asked.

Hermione sighed. "I was just wondering why we agreed to do this."

There was a sniff from the other side of the plane.

"I don't know about you, but I do not fancy listening to you bicker like a married couple so just bloody well _shut up!_"

There was a moment of silence.

"You do realize that Malfoy just told us to _shut up_" Harry mumbled sleepily.

Hermione smirked, a look that was unbecoming of her.

"Yes, but Malfoy wouldn't really dare do anything as there are three Gryffindors and only one Slytherin, who, BTW, doesn't have the reach or expertise of this Gryffindor. Besides, he's just tired."

Ron looked puzzled. "BTW?"

Hermione sighed. "It's a muggle term that stands for 'by the way'." Ron blinked.

"oh."

Silence filled the cabin.

"Anyone up for a game of exploding snap?" Harry finally asked, breaking the silence. The blond Slytherin scoffed.

"What, are wizarding games now too below you?" Ron snapped. Malfoy ignored him.

Hermione glared at all of them:"Both of you SHUT UP!" she snarled, just as Professor McGonagall entered the cabin.

The stern professor took a seat at one end of the cabin of the private jet they were all currently in. She had several folders in hand, each a different color with a name inscribed on it.

"These are your personalized folders, they hold some information, emergency contact numbers, and your room assignments. Also included is a general itinerary-"

She ignored the suffering look Malfoy had just put on, knowing it to be fake.

"…of which you may consult if you find yourself with free time and wish to do some sightseeing.

"You are here representing Hogwarts, and, on a smaller, less noticeable scale, England. We have arrived a week early so that you may adjust to the time difference."

Professor McGonagall stood up. "If you take a look inside your binder, you'll find some information about where you are all headed to. You will find more information about the competition, and you will find a set of rules. Note this: the rules you must study, memorize, and honor. We are not in our home country. We play by whatever rules they lay down."

Satisfied, she nodded. "We will be landing in a few moments. Gather your belongings."

There was silence for a moment.

Ron was thinking of her words just now. And then remembered, he was selected as a 'representative of Hogwarts, and on a lesser scale, England.'

What was happening, at the moment, was that Ron, Hermione, Harry, and, of all people, Draco Malfoy, were flying together, on the same plane, to one and only sunny California.

Why?

Because of that bloody inter-country competition.

And Dumbledore thought the three Gryffindors and Slytherin would get along splendidly.

And he was probably far far away in his office across the U.S., across the ocean, somewhere in Hogwarts, laughing in delight that he'd finally sent them off to what proved to be an interesting time for everyone around the world.

It had all started a few months before.

"_Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger, and Mr. Weasley. The headmaster would like a world."_

_Seeing Malfoy nearby, Professor McGonagall added, "You too Mr. Malfoy. Come along." _

_Harry felt a stone drop into his stomach. What had happened now? Or, rather, what did he do?_

_Ron was wondering what kind of prank Fred and George had pulled and blamed on them._

_Hermione and Malfoy wore almost identical neutral expressions._

"_Ice parchment," was the password, and then all stepped onto the spiraling staircase. No one noticed Malfoy hang back a bit so that he was at the end of the group, with McGonagall between him and the three Gryffindor students._

"_Headmaster, the students you requested to see," the woman stated, stepping aside._

_Dumbledore smiled cheerfully at them all. "Thank you very much Minerva." She nodded and left. Only Dumbledore saw the carefully masked distate on her face that he might select Mr. Malfoy of all people._

_He settled back as the students stood in front of him, all with varying states of guilty expressions on their faces._

"_Now why the guilty looks? I haven't accused you of anything, and I won't be doing so, unless there is something you wish to tell me," he said, popping a lemon drop into his mouth, and offering the dish to all of them, each who declined politely._

_Hermione, ever the curious one, spoke up._

"_I'm sorry Headmaster, it's just, it's not everyday you call all of us up to your office, with..um.." she refused to say the name of their oh so pleasant companion. He glared at her._

"_I've got a name you know," Malfoy snapped, irritated by her attitude. Dumbledore ignored this all._

"_I have summoned you here to ask you a favor. As you have all heard, there is a competition that will be held in 4 months time, over in America. Hogwarts was cordially invited to send four students and a mentor. It is really an odd competition, with your basic charms and defense skills, and then interesting talent demonstrations just for fun. And the one event that a heavy emphasis is placed on is equestrian riding." Dumbledore paused to allow this to sink in._

_Harry had a feeling where this conversation was going. "Um, sir.." but Dumbledore shook his head and he stopped._

"_You might've guessed by now that I want to send you four. If you choose to accept, it means 4 months of extra lessons, reviewing all aspects of your lessons, and more professional training in equestrian riding. You will be excused from classes that will not appear during the competition, such as Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies." He studied the students for a few moments, allowing them to drink it all in._

Harry sighed. At the time it seemed reasonable enough to accept, and it had sounded like fun. Now, however, he was having second thoughts, but didn't voice them. He had trained hard, practiced a lot, and, though he was grudgingly admitting it, he was feeling slightly excited.

"buckle up children," McGonagalls stern voice came through the plane, magically enhanced so they could hear her.

Grumbling about being called a child' Draco Malfoy buckled his seat belt, proud of being able to do it on his own. Hermione noticed.

"Why Malfoy, you did up your belt all on your own," she teased, while Harry and Ron snickered. No one could forget the trouble he had had before takeoff a few hours earlier. Draco ignored them.

"Aw c'mon Draco," Ron said, punching lightly on the shoulder. "At least you won't fall into the ocean if the plane crashes." Hermione sniffed.

"We're about to land Ronald, and I don't believe we could land in the ocean," she reminded him. He blinked. "right."

The strangest thing of all was the strange friendship they had. Over the months of training Malfoy had come to tolerate the three Gryffindors and vice versa. They weren't enemies, but tentative friends.

The plane touched down with a slight rumble, sending waves of turbulence through the plane. Ron looked green, and Hermione sat passively in her seat, glancing out the window at the airport.

Moments later the airplane came to a complete stop and McGonagall swept back into the cabin as they all rose to leave. She handed each one of them a charm on a necklace.

"Put this on and don't take it off. It's a communication charm. Very simple to use, just press it and you may speak into it. Another press will shut it off. Now, gather your handbags and lets be off," she ordered, a small bag in her hand. "Your luggage will be seen to and waiting for you at the hotel."

With that she opened the door and walked down the stairs into the sunshine.

A/N gah, sorry, my first fic, I'm just being random with this one, I don't really care of the characters are IC or not, you choose. And if you have something nasty to say to me, say it in your dreams, because I frankly don't care. Oh, and I apologize to anyone who does not understand this as I am American, hence why they are traveling to America for this. Tata!


	2. Chapter 2

British Americans 

_Chapter 2_

Hermione rolled over in bed and opened her eyes sleepily and glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It read 7:30 A.M. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, stretching. She padded over to the window and pulled back the curtain, allowing sunlight to stream into the room.

Yesterday they had arrived at Salem Institute of Witcraft and Wizardry and had been assigned rooms in the guest quarters. They had been shown the mess hall and had each received individual rooms.

Hermione picked up a slip of paper that had come under her door. It was a note scrawled in Professor McGonagalls precise handwriting.

_Miss Granger,_

_I am addressing this note to you as you are probably the only one of you four who will be awake at a reasonable hour._

Hermione grinned at that part, and continued reading.

Breakfast starts at 7:30 and continues until 9:00 A.M. The students here at the Institute have lessons starting 9:15 A.M. So do you four. I know you all have brought the necessary textbooks and items for your lessons, so be prepared for a potions lesson starting at 9:15 sharp. Please be in Lesson Hall 7, and please be on time.

_Professor McGonagall_

Hermione folded the letter and placed it in a pocket in the purple folder she had been given yesterday. She hopped into the shower for a quick revival, and slipped into a pair of jeans, a blue shirt, and her Hogwarts robes. She had removed the prefects badge and stuck it into her trunk, which was empty from the unpacking she had done the night before.

She grabbed her bookbag and stuffed it with the necessary materials, and the collapsible cauldron she carried everywhere. She put her wand into the long, tasseled, velvet sack hanging off of the bag, and went next door to rouse Harry, then Ron, and finally Draco, passing on the message, and looked in the purple binder to see what was on today's lesson.

They were covering the pepper-up potion today, though how she did not know since Professor Snape was halfway across the world.

She shut her notebook with a snap as three doors opened simultaneously around her.

"Took you long enough. Boys," she muttered, with a small smile, and the four of them strolled off to breakfast with their items in hand.

Ron glanced around, a spark in his eyes.

"Excellent!" He declared. The sight of food had done what the others could not, which was wake him up successfully, and he dragged them over to a table with the Hogwarts plaque floating above it.

The foursome ignored the curious eyes that followed them across the room. They deposited their cloaks onto the chairs, noticing the extra chairs for probably their mentor, and possibly Professor Dumbledore who was supposed to stop by later on that day.

Ron grabbed Hermione's hand and dragged her over to the nearest buffet table. "Ron," she said, irritated, snatching her hand away.

"Really, you see this much food at Hogwarts all the time," she admonished, watching in horrified fascination as he put several pancakes, slices of bacon, and strawberries on his plate and then proceeded to drizzle syrup all over it. Hermione picked up two trays and handed one to him, keeping the other for herself, while Draco and Harry helped themselves to trays.

Harry picked the same selection of fruit, the only difference being that he put his syrup in a small separate dish, and had not acquired such a large selection. He poured himself a glass of orange juice and returned to the table where Ron had already started on his breakfast.

"Potions first thing today," Harry commented, cutting into his pancake. Ron rolled his eyes.

"And we're still stuck with Snape," he muttered around a mouthful of bacon.

Draco set his tray down and slid into his spot, a split second before Hermione.

"How do you know? He's at Hogwarts. And Snape's not that bad," Draco protested, spearing a bacon with his fork.

"McGonagall told us about that. They're using some sort of recording to record the lesson and then transmit it to us. The only reason we can't be viewing the lesson as it happens is because of the time difference," Hermione replied.

As if on cue, Professor McGonagall showed up at their table with a cup of coffee and a pastry.

"I have your lesson for you," she said, producing a clear sphere that somewhat resembled a Remembrall.

"In the future, I will leave the lesson for you in your common room or the Lesson Hall that we've been assigned. You will have Potions on Monday, A Defense lesson on Tuesday, Transfiguration on Wednesday, Charms on Thursday, and a training session with the horses on Friday. You do not have Herbology or Divination, as you covered those in extent before your departure. I expect all of you on time for each and every lesson." She rose, having finished her pastry, with her cup of coffee in hand. "I shall see you all at a later hour. Good day."

Harry watched her go, slightly amused. "Even away from Hogwarts she's still formal," he murmured.

Draco took a swig of his pumpkin juice. "What do you expect? She's serious about this whole 'representing Hogwarts and England' thing."

"Where'd you get that?" Hermione asked him, pointing at the mug of pumpkin juice in his hand. He turned her face to the center of their table, where a flagon of pumpkin juice rested. She poured herself a glass and sat back, finished with her modest breakfast.

"Ron hurry up," Harry said. He grunted a reply, and finished off his juice. "Ok, let's go," he declared, jumping up.

His three companions looked at each other, wondering how such a simple boy had grown into his intelligence enough to have been chosen for this. They followed him out of the hall back to their common room.

Just outside the mess hall they were hailed by a group of several boys and girls. They stopped in front of them, blocking their path. By their looks they seemed, by Hogwarts terms, very large sixth years. The one who seemed to be leading the pack scrutinized them.

"Welcome to the Salem Institute of Witcraft and Wizardry," the boy said formally. "My name is Ned Peterson, in charge of the S.I. Patrol (stands for the 'Salem Institute' Patrol). You must be the Hogwarts representatives. You need anything, please let me, or one of the others here," he gestured behind him, "know, and we will try our best to accommodate your needs, as long as it is within reason."

Harry nodded solemnly, and Hermione spoke up.

"Thank you Ned Peterson. We shall certainly keep you in mind should anything come to attention."

Ron glanced at his watch and glanced at Hermione, who understood.

"We've a lesson to be heading off to, so please excuse us," she said politely.

Each of them uttered a polite 'good day' to the welcome committee, and sidled past, headed to Lesson Hall 7.

The foursome entered the lesson hall, and they all glanced around. All thoughts of the competition/tournament and the Patrol they had just met were driven from the plainness of the room. The room was high ceilinged, furnished in a modern style with white washed walls and wizarding lights over head that had flickered on as soon as they had walked in. There were wooden tables running horizontally across the room, obviously for the students.

Hermione observed the room, and raised her wand and muttered a charm none of them heard to raise a glowing, see through, shimmering mist before their eyes. She directed the mist around her, seeing only flickers of the usual protection charms and spells against eavesdropping.

"_finite incantatem,"_ she intoned, and the mist dissolved.

"Anything?" Harry asked. She shook her head. "Nope. No charms or spells from what I can tell, aside from the usual anti-inflammatory and householdy spells. Similar to the ones in the potions room at Hogwarts."

They continued with their exploration of the room, all the while setting up their cauldrons.

"We're making a simple healing potion today," Hermione called out, and Harry and the others nodded to show they had heard.

Harry opened his bag and pulled out the lecture crystal they had received at breakfast, and set it down at the only desk in the front of the room.

They all wandered around the room, taking in the covered windows and lack of decoration. Ron was the one to notice the scribbling on the board.

Welcome to Salem, my four young students. This is the room you have been assigned for your lessons. As you can see, it is white, bare, drab, colorless, etc. I was told that you are allowed to decorate the room to suit yourselves. I shall be present not tonight, but tomorrow. I hope you are all well.

_-Headmaster Dumbledore_

"So we can decorate it to our every whim," Draco observed cleverly.

"Let's wait for this lesson to be over and then we'll decorate it, we don't have much time right now, I think McGonagall's coming." The door opened and their mentor professor strode in.

"Morning to you. I will check in at the beginning of the lesson and periodically through the lesson to ensure that you do not skip out, though I do not expect you to."

She produced a strange wooden board with a metal cup in the middle and placed it on the desk. The crystal sphere was placed in the cup, where it fit snugly, and twisted it. There was a satisfying click, and an image was projected before them. It was of the most recent potions lesson. Since Professor Snape was simply explaning the lesson, McGonagall took the chance to teach them workings of the sphere to them.

"It's really quite simple, all you need to do is place it in the metal cup and twist it, That will activate it, sometimes the lesson will come up right away, othertimes it will need a few seconds to charge up. You cannot pause it. It is similar to a real lesson, with the only difference that you will not be able to interact with the professor or other students you might see. I have stocked the closet over there,"

she gestured with one hand towards the side of the room, "with various potions ingredients, suggested by Professor Snape, that you might need, and with additional ingredients that you might need use of during the competition. If you are running out of something, or need something, let me know and I will owl the Professor and ask for it." She paused. "That is all, now your lesson is starting."

Indeed, the students on screen had their cauldrons out and were squinting at the directions on the board. The foursome automatically reached for their binders and rifled to todays potion, a simple pepper-up potion.

Ron sighed. "Well, the faster we finish this, the faster we are out of here," he said moodily. They trooped over to the student cabinet, collected their ingredients, and started off the lesson.

Draco himself had a 'blonde' moment (no offense to anyone! It's just a term!), no pun intended, and tried to start his potion by tossing in ingredients without lighting the cauldron.

They sat down 2 hours later, all in various states of grumbling.

"Oh cheer up you lot, we can decorate now!" Hermione said brightly. The guys groaned, as Harry thought, _trust a girl to think of decorating before lunch._

They picked up their wands, and looked around the room.

"Well…" Ron broke the silence. "Since there are 4 walls I think we should each decorate one wall however we want." The other heartily agreed, and got to work.

Ron had lots of fun conjuring up a vision of a white ferret wearing a tiny red and gold streaked jersey. Malfoy, who was busy conjuring up an image of a giant green and silver Slytherin banner, did not notice. Hermione had decided on a replica of Starry Night and Harry had done a Gryffindor lion.

Obviously they didn't have to paint this all by hand, as the magic they commanded did it for them, so they agree to painting the Hogwarts crest on the ceiling without using magic to conjure and color the images.

Instead, they used their wands to draw on the ceiling a sloppy replica of the Hogwarts crest, and colored it dutifully following the lines.

Though the boys had complained about decorating, they secretly enjoyed it, and Hermione knew it. They cleaned up, and gathered up their belongings, then disappeared out the door.

Short A/N- I've decided to pick up this story again, but updates will be very rare. I'm redoing the chapters now, so….


	3. Chapter 3

British Americans Chapter 3 

They trudged out of the room after decorating, the boys assuring a strict Hermione that they had indeed remembered to label their vials of potion and leave it at the front of the room on the desk for Professor McGonagall to evaluate.

"I hope the potions are ok. If what Charlie said about the competition is right, it's a bit like a team Tri-Wizard tournament, with more than 3 schools competing, and teams," Ron commented.

Harry groaned inwardly. He had forgotten all about the Tri-Wizard tournament two years earlier. "Don't remind me," he mumbled, wincing at the thought of the Horntail, and more specifically about the maze.

"Sorry," Ron mumbled. Hermione had noticed none of this exchange as she was flipping through Harry's blue binder.

"It says in here that we're scheduled for a tour of the Institute after Lunch, then we have some free time to ourselves before an official welcome feast for dinner, where we'll be introduced to the other competing schools and the host school's team. We're also scheduled for a sort of party tomorrow night, which I guess is a chance to socialize and meet other people and representatives, though I suspect we'll get a formal invitation to it at tonight's feast or sometime this evening. I do hope our dress robes are fitting for the occasion, and-" Harry cut her off.

"Hermione, if they are not fit we'll just ask McGonagall to transfigure them for us," he said.

All three guys reached out and snagged her arm, directing her towards the mess hall.

"I for one am hungry so lets head off to lunch!" (A/N-three guesses as to who said that)

Harry woke to his alarm at 7:00. He grumbled, swatting at his bedside table, and sat up, putting his glasses on. Last night's feast had been interesting. There had been a wide selection of food, from roasts to potatoes to the most interesting dishes of vegetables, curry, and foreign food he could remember. There were very American style pizzas and salads, and his personal favorite, Caesar Salad

He couldn't remember much of the evening as afterwards the four of them had been up in their common room until 10:30 drinking butterbeer and listening to Hermione mumble over her notes from previous lessons. She was paranoid they would be getting a test or quiz sometime soon, just like the regular classes at Hogwarts. Harry had to admit, grudgingly, that the possibility was very strong.

He did remember, however, their reception the evening before. His mind wandered back to it.

A man who appeared to be in his sixties had stood at the front of the room at the staff table, where the teachers and various mentors were gathered supping together and talking. Harry was surprised to see how many seemed to know Professor McGonagall, who in turn seemed to know many of the staff at the table.

The man who had stood up wasn't very tall, but not short either, averaging around Draco's height. The man was wearing royal blue robes that were trimmed in a darker, almost black, blue color that was almost unnoticeable because it was so similar to the color of robes overall. He had a twinkle in his eyes and held himself in a way that reminded Harry of Dumbledore. He certainly had a beard to rival Dumbledore's at any rate.

"As Headmaster of Salem Institute, I would like to welcome you all on behalf of everyone. This competition, or tournament, will prove to be exciting and fun, My name is Headmaster Dilly, should you need anything please let me, one of the staff, or one of our S.I. Patrol know and we will see what we can do within reason.

"Now, for the introductions, please give a warm hand to the Hogwarts representatives!"

There was a warm round of applause as they all trooped up to the front, led by Professor McGonagall.

"May I please introduce their mentor, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Dumbledore who unfortunately was not available tonight. I leave it up to the professor to introduce her team."

He offered her his place at the front of the staff table, which she took graciously.

"Thank you all for your kind welcome. I have here four of my students, who make up the Hogwarts team. From your left to right, we have Miss Hermione Granger, Mr. Draco Malfoy," several people had seemed startled hearing his name, "Mr. Ronald Weasley, and Mr. Harry Potter."

There was muttering all over the room as Harry's name was heard. There was whisperings of 'Harry Potter?' "The Harry Potter?' 'The one with the scar?' and other random nonsense. Harry felt himself harden up inside, but carefully performed the breathing exercise as he had been taught during meditation, wishing he had his invisibility cloak out here.

Professor McGonagall ignored all this, and with a last 'thank you' she handed the top spot back over to Headmaster Dilly, and led her students back to their table before once more rejoining the staff at the front. People were turning to stare at them, as if trying to convince themselves that Harry was indeed real, and not just a trick or a spell.

He groaned inwardly. I should've known this would happen he thought bitterly. It had been too much to hope that the Americans would not know about Voldemort and the First War, even if they were not targeted and were safe here in America.

Harry had sat scowling through the rest of the introductions, only catching bits of the other schools, one from a small private school in New York, one from Spain, several Beauxbatons students from France, and a team from Durmstrang. That made it six teams from six different schools competing, total. Harry wondered now why he had not recognized Madam Maxime at first, but remembered how he was disgruntled by the unwanted attention.

Dressing quickly, he opened his door to the common room where Hermione was, predictably, waiting.

"Hello. Did you sleep well?" she asked, as was customary, sipping a glass of water as she reviewed the day's itinerary. He mumbled something and sat down beside her. He could tell Ron and Draco were awake from the noises coming from the two rooms before Ron emerged, with Draco opening the door as he shut his.

"Great, lets go," Harry said, ready to get breakfast over with.

"I am NOT looking forward to people asking me if I'm really Harry Potter," he said rebelliously as the trooped towards the dining hall.

"Oh Harry don't be so silly, they just aren't sure what to make of you," Hermione said, tugging the door open. They all trudge inside and helped themselves to breakfast and some juice.

"What's for today?" Ron asked when they had finished up eating.

Hermione answered him promptly. "We're covering some Dark Creatures, today. I had a floo chat with Ginny last night; she got Parvati to fill me in on the lesson. We're learning about Lethifolds, Nundus, Werewolves, Basilisks, and Kelpie's."

Draco stared at her. "Did you take notes on what Parvati said?" He demanded, finishing his pumpkin juice.

She retorted with a glare as they headed off to their lesson.

They were sitting at their table for lunch, discussing the lesson.

"I can't believe he went into such detail about the Basilisk. It's not like we need a reminder," Harry muttered, poking at his stew with his spoon.

"It's important for us to review. Besides, Malfoy didn't see that piece of paper and have to solve the Chamber mystery, so he didn't know." Draco pretended not to hear, summoning the platter of beef stew from the end of their table where the food was piled.

"I can't believe you charmed that ferret to bounce around on his wall," Draco grumbled, still smarting from the events of fourth year.

"Whatever. You guys, I'm sure the horses have had plenty of time to settle in by now. Why don't we go for a ride after lunch? We have time before the party, and we can even go flying after we ride," Ron suggested, and they all nodded.

"I'm done," Hermione declared, putting down her napkin. The others followed suit. They went to their rooms and changed into riding gear, a pair of dark tan breeches, paddock boots and half chaps, and a gray collared T-shirt with the Hogwarts crest on them.

Harry was wondering why no one had come bothered him about being the great Harry Potter, asking to see his scar, but remembered Professor McGonagall winking at him over breakfast this morning.

They headed to the barn and immediately located their horses. Professor Dumbledore had provided them horses from his own stable. They each greeted their horse, slipping on the halters and retrieving grooming supplies from their tack room.

Hermione had the most natural ability of them all, unsurprisingly. She had a sleek black Arabian, a 9 year old mare named Calligraphy, or Calli, whose forte was in Dressage. Draco had an elegant TB gelding by the name of Sensation, whom he called Sy. They made an excellent pair in hunter/jumper rounds. Ron and Harry both competed in show jumping, with Ron's horse a chestnut Morgan gelding called Mission Impossible, known as Rocky, and Harry's horse a dapple gray Trakehner mare who was christened Serendipity.

Soon all four had their mounts saddled and were warming up in one of the training arenas. While they all had specific areas to work on, today was really a relaxing and keeping in shape sort of day. They all worked their horses lightly, putting them through their paces for 45 minutes of walk, trot, canter, hand gallop, and lateral work, nothing fancy as they wanted their Professor to be here to coach them, and the horses had just arrived.

"Let's check out a trail to cool them off," Hermione suggested, eager to explore their surroundings.

They all headed out the arena and towards a path that was marked 'The Loop.'

"I asked one of the stable hands about the layout of this place before we headed out. He said that if we take 'The Loop' it takes about 15 to 20 minutes to walk, and most of it is level ground, so we should be cooled off by the time we reach back. It just loops around the equestrian facilities and ends next to the barn," Hermione stated, ever the organized one.

The others all dutifully followed her onto the trail, keeping a firm hand on the reins in case any of the unfamiliar territory spooked one of the horses. Rocky and Sensation were usually the easiest to spook, but today all of them were a bit dancy at the new terrain.

Quietly soothing them, the four continued their ride. Harry was frowning. It was odd for Sera to be spooking, as she was the youngest but had lots of experience being out somewhere new. She danced around, half rearing at times, but he forced her onwards, talking to her quietly, knowing that this would be the first spot to come riding next time so she would get used to it.

He saw a spec of white off to his left, and turned his head to see, but at that moment Sera had decided that the spec of white was dangerous and horse eating, and had spun around to stare into the brush at that white spec. Harry could now make out some black also, though it was hard to tell as the trees where just beginning to thicken as they rode deeper into the forest. He made a mental note to ask around, if maybe someone had gone riding on a black horse around the same time as them, but he knew that it wouldn't be too much good. Besides, what he had just seen seemed suspiciously like…

"Harry! Hurry up, is Sera still being stupid?" Ron called back. Harry started. Sera had indeed settled down a bit. He blinked stupidly for a moment, then pushed her into a trot to join the others.

A/N- Now, I know the story switches POV a lot, but I will be focusing much more on Harry, I think. Right now I have no specific plans for this story, I'm just writing it out as things come to mind. And for those of you who were expecting an in depth lesson on dark creatures, I'm not writing it out, unless you want me to. I don't want to clutter up the story. If I do include a lesson in detail, then ask yourselves why I wasted my time on it, and what could possibly be good from it. ;) It might be a hint at to what's coming.

The Horses:

Calligraphy (Stable Name- Calli) 14.2 hands, Arabian, black, 9 years old, mare, Dressage

Sensation (Sy, pronounced like the letter 'C') 15.3 hands, bay, TB, 10 years, gelding, hunter/jumper

Mission Impossible (Rocky) 17 hands, liver chestnut, Morgan x TB, 10 years, gelding, show jumping

Serendipity (sometimes Sera) 16 hands, dapple gray, Trakehner, 7 years, mare, show jumping

If you need clarification on any horse terms that I use, then please do not be afraid to ask!

Thanks to reviewers, s.halliwell24, Angel-In-Gold613, sporksofdoom13, insanepyroshorty, angil10, and wizbey. Thank you for the offer to beta my stories (Angel-In-Gold613), I'll keep you in mind, and might be contacting you for some short stories I have in mind. I hope you don't mind horses as a subject. Starry Night is one of my favorites too, and it seemed like something Hermione would like. Kudos to wizbey for guessing what Ron's wall in the lesson hall depicts. I thought it seemed like something he would do.

Next Chapter: the party! Expect details about the competition, they come up with a team name, and peoples reactions to the famous Harry Potter.


	4. Chapter 4

**British Americans**

_Chapter 4_

Draco fidgeted, straightening his dress robes. They were, surprisingly, a deep, red wine color trimmed with a gold ribbon on the cuffs and the hem. On the back of the robe was a moving insignia of a great golden phoenix, whose liking was surprisingly similar to that of Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes. Underneath all this splendor he wore a simple white silk shirt.

The boys had decided to prepare for this 'party' together, and were at present gathered in Ron's room which was surprisingly the tidiest of them all. Ron himself was in the bathroom, adjusting his black robes. While if it was describe as just black, one might think it was a plain, everyday student or work robe. However when the manufacturers Dumbledore had ordered their robes from had found out that the robes were for Ronald Weasley, friend of Harry Potter, they had frantically searched the storerooms high and low for something to add to add splendor, and had added some real, miniscule bits of obsidian that caught your eye as they sparkled under the light. His too was trimmed in gold, and the golden phoenix on the back added to the effect.

Harry himself had chosen a dark forest green color, also trimmed in gold with the same phoenix transcribed on the back. He was at present using a comb on his hair, with Draco looking on in amusement, his own blond hair showing only the mildest touch of gel to keep stray hairs from flying.

"Where's Hermione?" Ron asked, satisfied that there was not a single stray thread on his self.

"Hermione is right here." The subject of their short conversation had appeared at the door, dressed in a pearly white robe which was almost glowing from the spells on it to keep it from getting dirty. On the back of her robe was also the same dark golden phoenix. She had her wand in hand, pointed at her hair, which had been straightened and curled, and left loose. A stream of warm air was seemingly drying her hair, as she walked in.

She stood next to Ron and peered into the mirror. Satisfied with her hair, she turned around to find the boys assembled before her, fidgeting. She raised an eyebrow.

"Am I supposed to inspect you?" She asked, marching along the three man line. She adjusted here and there, and ruffled Harry's hair.

"Hey!" he protested, swatting at her hand. She swatted back.

"You don't look natural with it slicked down," she retorted, air drying his hair from all the water that he had used to attempt to tame it.

She nodded, her sharp eyes raking over each one more time.

Ron glanced at his watch. "We should wait in the common room," he commented, and they dutifully followed Hermione out into the common room where the Professor was waiting.

The Professor gave them all a critical once over, then nodded, gracing them with one of her smiles.

"Good, you all look excellent." She turned around and picked up four black cloaks, handing one to each student.

"Put these on, and use this," she handed them a Hogwarts pin, "to keep it together."

She had already donned her own dress robes, dark, navy blue, with the Hogwarts crest and her teams crest under that.

"Now you don't need to be so tense, it's formal, but not despicably so. A few of the professors from Hogwarts decided to attend, namely Professors Dumbledore, Snape, and Flitwick. Madam Pomfrey sends her greetings, specially to Mr. Potter and asks that he does not injure himself unnecessarily while he is here."

For a moment, Professor McGonagall looked as if she didn't know whether to laugh or not. She settled for a small smile.

"Our resident Poltergeist wished to attend the festivities, but Dumbledore said that he'd only be allowed with a chaperon, namely the Baron. I think he felt that it was not _extremely_ important that he attend, and asks that," she makes a face, "asks that I pass on greetings from him to you."

The four of them snicker, which McGonagall ignores.

"Lets us head to the dining hall," she refused to call it the mess hall, "and get on with the festivities."

The team obeyed and walked in pairs behind her. Harry caught up with Professor McGonagall.

"Professor, if Dumbledore is here, I need to speak with him tonight, it's important," he said nervously.

Professor McGonagall glanced sideways at him. "And what, pray tell Mr. Potter, is so important that cannot wait until after the competition?"

He bit his lip. "I saw something when we went out riding this afternoon," he mumbled.

Professor McGonagall frowned. "Very well. I'll ask that he remain behind so you might have a word with him."

Harry nodded. "Erm, thank you Professor," he said, as they came to halt at the doors.

Ron reached for the door and pulled it open. "Ladies first," he said, with a lopsided grin, inclining his head to the Professor. She sniffed.

"Well, it seems as if those etiquette lessons from your friend, Mr. Malfoy here, did pay off," she said, and stepped through the door with Hermione following, who was hiding a grin behind her hand.

The hall had been decorated after lunch. There were six tapestries in all, three each hanging on 2 walls opposite each other. Each tapestry depicted the school crest of the competing schools. Beauxbatons and Durmstrangs were still the same (If you don't remember, refer back to GoF).

The school from New York had, predictably, a great depiction of the Statue of Liberty, in all of it's green glory.

The Spanish school had a magnificent tapestry of a great chestnut horse, in all it's glory, rearing on a surprising background of mountains.

"Wow," Hermione murmured, staring at the tapestry.

"I heard a rumor that they've brought horses from the Spanish Riding School, the one in Vienna. If the rumors are true, we're never going to beat them at the equestrian events, those horses are trained since day one and are magnificent. I saw them perform, once, when they came to London. It was right before my first year at Hogwarts. They were…just wonderful." Hermione gazed at the tapestry.

Draco tore his eyes away from the tapestry and focused on the last one, the Salem Institute tapestry.

The Salem Institute had a large, wary, imposing black cat, possibly a great cat, on a plain bronze background that was speckled with what appeared to be glitter on first glance.

"It's faerie dust," a voice said near him. Draco turned around, and smiled.

"Professor Snape!" he cried. A firm handshake was exchanged in greeting, as the others gathered around to greet him.

The Professor nodded to each of them. Some of his hostility had melted away a little, due to their ever growing friendship with Malfoy.

"I've had a look at the potion you four brewed yesterday. They are all fine. I've taken the liberty of combining all of the leftovers from your potions, and I am taking a flask of it back to Hogwarts with me. Poppy says that this years bunch of OWL students will be in grave need of it."

Having said all he needed to, he walked with them to the table that was filled with drinks. All of them robotically picked up a flute of pumpkin juice, and chatted briefly, as Professors Flitwick and Dumbledore stopped by to say hello.

Professor Dumbledore steered Harry away from the others a little. "Your mentor hinted that you would like to speak with me afterwards. If it is alright with you, I will be waiting for you in your given common room, to speak with you after the festivities." Harry nodded.

"Thank you Professor," he said, glancing around.

They walked back towards the others.

"I must say, you all are looking magnificent this evening in those robes. I do hope you'll wear them to other formal events. Now, if you'll excuse me, I would like to greet Headmaster Dilly." They all said goodbye to him, as the serene old professor seemed to 'waltz' over to where the two headmasters greeted each other jovially.

The lights, some which had been covered with fine tissue paper of soft colors, dimmed slightly, as candles that were situated on the tables flared into life.

"If everyone would please take a seat, we may begin with our dinner, as I'm sure you are all very hungry and wondering why we have not yet started." Some chuckles ran through the room, as people sat down. The two visiting professors and their transfiguration joined the four at a table, with Dumbledore sitting at the head of the room with Professor Dilly.

"Might I welcome a most esteemed guest, Headmaster Dumbledore from Hogwarts School of Witcraft and Wizardry." There was a ripple of applause through the room, and Professor Dumbledore stood up and bowed gravely, assuming a proper air of dignity. Ron snorted, and Hermione shushed him,

"Please, enjoy your dinner," and with that small menu's appeared on the table. Hermione seemed miffed at this dining method, surely it meant more work for the house elves? No one took notice, and they all place their orders.

Over dinner they chatted casually, Hermione trying to figure out ways to get the foreigners interested in S.P.E.W.

"Leave it be, there aren't many who will care. Besides, they're dead useful and like what they do," Draco said, to which Hermione replied with an indignant huff.

Headmaster Dilly stood up, and the comfortable chatting in the room died down, as everyone turned expectantly towards him. He smiled. The students of Salem Institute were all gathered at the side of the room in two long tables, with what appeared to be the team gathered at a small table of their own.

"Thank you all for coming. For those of you who know what the Triwizard Tournament is, this is a very similar competition, with the exception that all the challenges are met by teams instead of individuals, from as many different schools as want to participate.

"This years teams are:

"From Salem Institute, we have the Black Ribbon Dragons." Two girls and two boys stood up, all dressed identically in black robes made of the same stain that ribbons would normally be made of. On the breast of each robe was a small black dragon.

"From the Libertarian Academy, New York, please welcome the Wings of Liberty." Four girls stood, dressed all in a silvery green with the peace sign stitched onto one shoulder with the Statue of Liberty on the other.

"From the Vienna Academy of Sorcery and Riding, the Wild Mustangs." Hermione muttered an, 'I was right,' that no one heard as four solidly built boys stood, each dressed in robes made of blue and black, with the same blue ribbon braiding their long hair.

"From Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the Phoenix Fires." The four of them stood automatically, then sat when the applause faded.

"From Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, please welcome the Batons!" Four girls stood, one that they all recognized.

"Fleur's here!" Ron hissed, poking Harry painfully.

"What? Oh, ouch Ron, yes I noticed," Harry said, thinking '_what luck, she's here again. Just like old times. Too bad Krum couldn't make it_ he thought sarcastically, not realizing he said that out loud until he noticed everyone at the table staring at him.

He turned red. "Sorry," he muttered. He had just missed the Durmstrang team announcement, but it didn't matter.

"What's the Durmstrang lot called?" Ron asked.

"Midnight Magic," Draco replied.

"The tournament is scheduled to start on Monday. There you will receive your first instructions. This tournament is designed to be similar to a treasure hunt, but a more challenging one. Each team will receive a different item to find. You will be required to use all of your knowledge and skills, and there will be a simple equestrian competition on the last day of the tournament to finish things up. The scores will be tallied up and the winners announced at the closing feast."

Headmaster Dilly seemed satisfied. "Alright then, thank you everyone, and please, enjoy your evening! There will be refreshments and tables up here at the front, and the rest of the room will be cleared for dancing."

Harry's stomach clenched. Dancing? He didn't dance. He traded equally panicked glances with Ron. Hermione looked delighted, while Draco looked…smug.

"Stop it, Hermione and I taught you how to dance, you'll survive," Draco ordered.

One of the girls from New York materialized. "Hello, my name's Lisa. Would you care to dance?" She addressed Draco. He grinned. "The names Draco. I'd love to dance, fair lady," he said smoothly, while Ron gagged behind them.

"Oh honestly Ron, don't be so stupid," she said, rolling her eyes. Fleur came over.

" 'Ello 'Arry. It's nice to see you again. Who knew zat we would meet once again for a competition?"

Harry gave her a polite smile.

"Hello Fleur, it's nice to see you too." She smiled.

Ron was fidgeting nearby. "Would you like to dance?" He blurted out, and his ears turned red.

Fleur blinked in surprise, then smiled at him. She seemed to smile a lot, but then again, everyone was.

"I vould luff to Mr. Weasley," she replied, and looking ecstatic, Ron allowed himself to be steered onto the dance floor.

"Come on Hermione," Harry said. "I don't want to be accosted by a suspicious group of girls heading our way," he said, looking nervously over his shoulder.

She laughed. "Oh alright, I'll rescue you. But you have to ask properly."

"Dyouwannadancewithme?" he blurted out.

She laughed again. "Yes I will." She took his arm and they went onto the dance floor. (ahem..this is NOT a romance, Hermione is merely being the friend and rescuing Harry.)

"You'll have to face it sooner or later," she said, as they danced by the group of fan girls, all of whom looked put out, and one who looked extremely harassed by having been dragged over by her friends.

Harry shrugged.

"The longer it can wait the better. I'm not particularly looking forward to it. I'm not a freakin' zoo animal, and I'm only famous because my parents died and I didn't," he remarked bitterly. Hermione sighed, and Harry spun her as the song changed tempo to a more upbeat one.

"You're just avoiding it, but there really is no avoiding it. You do need to face it, and if they give you trouble, just tell them to back off or summon one of us," she said. They bumped into another pair.

"Sorry," they both shouted, and started in surprise. The pair they had bumped into was no other than Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks.

"Hello there," "wotcher Harry, Hermione".

"Hi Tonks. Long time no see, what brings you here?" Hermione asked, as Harry straightened his robes.

"Each participating school is required to provide several wizards and witches for security. We'll be staying here for the tournament. I think Mad Eye is around here somewhere, so be-"

"Constant Vigilance!" A voice commanded. Hermione jumped, landing on Harry's foot. He glared at her.

"Sorry. Professor Moody-"

"None of this _Professor_ business," he growled.

"Um, sir, hello. It's nice to see you. I think I need to get Harry back to a table, but please join us," Hermione said, steering Harry around the perimeter of the dance floor and back to a table. She sat him down and was about to go get some ice.

"Let me," Tonks said, and waved her wand. A cup of ice flew towards them. She grabbed it in midair, and Harry raised an eyebrow.

"For someone clumsy you sure caught that nicely," Kingsley muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Tonks ignored him and handed the cup to Harry, producing a handkerchief too.

"You should be fine after a few minutes. You better be, I spoke to a few girls who are eager to meet you," she said wickedly. Harry groaned.

"Stop it Tonks. You're here to protect us, so do your job and protect me from them!"

"You know that's not part of my job. Just get used to it," she said cheerfully before heading back onto the dance floor with her Auror friend.

"Well Potter, Granger, nice talking to you. Give Weasley and Malfoy my greeting." Alastor Moody nodded and walked off, his electric blue eye intimidating a 13 year old couple he walked by.

Hermione was sitting down next to him. Ron was seen with someone else now, the blond haired Lisa that had been dancing with Draco. Draco himself was dancing with Fleur.

"We meet again," a voice said. Startled, Hermione and Harry tore their gaze from the random couples on the dance floor to focus on the voice.

It was Ned Peterson, the head patrol boy. He had chilly, ice blue eyes, and pale blond hair. He was dressed in silver robes which seemed to make him look even more icy.

Harry studied him. Something about him disturbed him, and he didn't know what.

"Would you care to dance?" Ned asked Hermione. She looked at Harry. "Are you alright on your own?" She asked. She was, of course, too polite to decline Ned, and Harry was too polite to decline Hermione's request.

"Go ahead. Ron's coming over anyways, he'll keep me company until I can dance." Hermione nodded, and took the hand offered to her and allowed herself to be guided onto the dance floor.

Ron plopped into the chair next to Harry.

"Man, I didn't know dancing could actually be so fun," he remarked, sipping a flute of pumpkin juice.

"What do you make of this Ned Peterson and his patrol crew?" Harry asked suddenly. "All my internal radars go off, and I can see Moody watching them from here. And he reminds me of someone, but I'm not sure who-" Ron cut him off abruptly.

"Lucius Malfoy. And the old Draco Malfoy," Ron said. Observing the couple, Harry realized he was right. The boy had the same, smug smile that Draco, no, Malfoy wore. His hair was the same color, his eyes were icy, and, in all honest to goodness, he moved with the air of a Slytherin.

"If he's got pureblood theories like Malfoy, then why is he dancing with her?" Harry asked.

"Someone say m'name?" Draco asked, plopping down.

"We were talking about the old you, the Malfoy," Ron said, gesturing to Hermione and Ned.

Draco frowned. "He does seem to act like…" he observed the couple.

"What an odd pair they make." He shrugged. "Oh well, if she wants to dance with him that's fine."

Harry shook his head. He believed she had more reasons to dance with him that just to dance. She could have easily danced with any other boy, but she had probably picked up on the strange air around the boy and decided to see if she could get anything out of him.

They all watched as the song ended and she thanked him for the dance. He picked up her hand and pressed his lips to the back of her hand, and walked off. Hermione was intercepted by Dumbledore, and she smiled and spoke with him for a few moments before returning to them.

"Well, I got some dirt on him," she said, sitting down and grabbing Ron's pumpkin juice. Ignoring his protests she drank from it.

"He's from your family, Draco. His father is your fathers brother, but he's a squib. When your family disowned him and erased him from their family tree, he was taken in by a muggleborn witch and wizard couple, who had the last name Peterson, and later married a wizard associating muggle woman. That's why Ned is so familiar, his father is your uncle. Only you probably didn't know about him because he was a squib, so you wouldn't know about Ned."

The guys gaped at her. "And he told you all this?" Ron demanded to know, ears starting to turn red.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Do you think I'd be so stupid to ask? I spoke to Dumbledore. Apparently he thinks this Ned is…_infatuated_ with me." She shuddered.

> > > > >

From across the room a set of pale, ice blue eyes watched the four students, from the school called..Hogwarts? What kind of name is that?

The girl, and the hero, were alright, but the other two…the purebloods would have to go. After all, it was their kind who outcast his family, right?

And why was he having these random, chilling thoughts?

> > > > >

A/N- smile I' sure you all can guess who _that _is. Thank you to all reviewers, please ask questions if something is confusing.

I added a one-shot yesterday, please let me know what you think of it, it's kind of odd.


	5. Chapter 5

Authors Note 

I have a feeling I'm not supposed to do this, but whatever. I'm discontinuing this story, unless there are people who really want to read it. Truthfully, this was just going to be a fun thing for me to do, and I only posted it on fanfic because I wanted opinions on it. But I realize now that no one's reading it, which means no one will probably read this. If no one is reading it, there is no reason for me to continue writing this story. So tata!

p.s. if you'd like some good story recommendations, check out my favorites lists.


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